Posts about Toyota

—>Several Ford cars are among the world's most reliable vehicles, according to the latest annual car reliability survey from Consumer Reports.  More »

—>It's probably a bad idea to market to consumers by tricking them with practical jokes. It's definitely a bad idea to make a consumer fear for her safety over a five day period because she thinks a stalker is coming after her. That's why a woman in Los Angeles is suing Toyota for $10 million after being on the receiving end of a Punk'd-style stunt to promote the Toyota Matrix.  More »

—>The recent recall of millions of Toyotas due to their floor mats' unfortunate tendency to trap the cars' accelerators, a flaw which has caused at least one confirmed horrific fatal accident, has caused people to wonder: if this happened to me, what would I do? Equipped with several different makes of cars and a test track, our colleagues at Consumer Reports Cars decided to play Mythbusters and put different stuck-accelerator survival strategies to the test.  More »

—>Warning: This audio is graphic and shocking. Before Toyota could be bothered to recall 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus cars that they had known for two years had a problem, an off-duty state trooper and three members of his family had to die in fatal car crash when the gas pedal got stuck on the floormat. This is the recording of their 911 call moments before they crashed into the end of the freeway at 120 mph.  More »

—>Just because your specific Toyota wasn't among the 3.8 million recalled last week doesn't mean you're safe.  More »

—>Toyota is recalling 3.8 million cars and warning owners of certain late-model cars to immediately remove their driver's side floor mat to avoid accelerators getting stuck. The affected Toyota and Lexus models are:  More »

—>We're not entirely sure Consumerist is responsible for Walmart finally getting back to Jeff on his ruined transmission—and frankly, because of the length of time between the incident and his complaint, as well as Walmart's reputation for silence on consumer complaints like this, we didn't expect much to happen at all. We were wrong, and we tip our hats to Walmart for making good on a very expensive mistake. Read Jeff's update below.  More »

—>Update: Walmart has responded!   More »

—>A former attorney for Toyota Motor Sales has filed a federal racketeering suit against the company, accusing them of failing to turn over or destroying documents relevant to accident victims' lawsuits against the company.  More »

—>Toyota has announced that it plans to recall 95,700 2009 and 2010 model year Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, and 2008 and 2009 Scion xD vehicles all equipped with 1.8 liter engines. The company is only notifying owners in states "affected" by extremely low temperatures: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.  More »

—>Some initial statistics are in on the vehicles traded in and purchased in the "Cash for Clunkers" program. Unsurprisingly, 80% of the vehicles traded in are trucks or SUVs, and the top sellers among car-buyers come from Honda, Toyota, and Ford.  More »

—>Mark Hampton has posted a video response to his dealership getting totally snagged by a customer who stashed a hidden camera in his vehicle and caught mechanics doing some dirty deeds.  More »

—>UPDATE: Dealership Video-Responds To Customer's Hidden Camera Expose  More »

—>Our commenter Zorantor discovered a weird, uh, can you call this an Easter egg?, buried at the bottom of a Craigslist post last night:
  More »

—>Here's a story that we missed late last week, probably because we were busy having nightmares about snake heads. Toyota lost $7.74 billion this past quarter. That's more than GM (though less than GM pre-bailout), and much more than predicted. It's the company's first annual loss since Elvis was in the Army.  More »

—>It's not just US automakers that are in trouble these days. Toyota is asking its government for a bailout and now Bloomberg says that Honda and Mazda might do the same.   More »

—>Consumer Reports' annual car issue is here, and with the death-spiraling economy in mind, they've identified the most reliable used cars for all of you value-conscious consumers. Hey, there's even an American car on the list!   More »

—>Wondering which car brands are the all-around best? According to the Automaker Report Cards published in Consumer Reports', Annual Auto Issue, 4 of the top 5 brands are Japanese, with no US car makers making the list — even though there was a 4-way tie for 5th place. Ouch.  More »

—>Consumer Reports has put together a list of the quickest depreciating new cars so that you bargain hunters can snatch up a lightly used car for a good price. In case you weren't aware, new cars take a big hit in depreciation in the first few years of ownership — a smart buyer lets someone else pay that "new car" tax.  More »

—>Consumer Reports just did a study about car brand perceptions, so we thought we'd compare the top 10 most highly perceived brands to their list of the most reliable car brands.  More »

Seemingly invulnerable Toyota will shut down its Japanese factories for 11 days as it too deals with the global economic slowdown. Previously, the company had been unable to keep up with demand for its fuel efficient cars. [NYT]  More »

—>Last fiscal year, Toyota made $28 billion dollars in profit. This year? Yeah. Not so much.  More »

Some bored people who hate that Saved By Zero commercial as much as you do have mashed it into a trailer for The Ring. Hooray.  More »

—>If you're looking for a photograph to illustrate how our economy has changed over the past few months, take a look at this. No, that's not a parking lot in a town where everyone has the same taste. It's the Port of Long Beach, where "thousands of cars worth tens of millions of dollars are being warehoused," unwanted by the dealers who used to sell them. They're imports — Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Nissan orphans.   More »

—>You, dear consumer, have abruptly stopped purchasing automobiles. GM's sales are down 45%. Ford has sunk by 30% and Toyota, yes, that Toyota is down 23%.   More »

—>Toyota, long resistant to the sort of interest-free financing deals that their domestic counterparts survive on, is offering 0% interest financing on 11 of their vehicles, including Corolla and Camry, the Tundra full-size pickup truck, Matrix; RAV4, Highlander, FJ Cruiser, 4Runner and Sequoia SUVs; Sienna minivan; and Tacoma pickup truck.  More »

—> Reader David asks:  More »

—>A hybrid vehicle might be more fuel efficient than the non-hybrid version of the same car, but some hybrid vehicles can get as few as 19mpg. Check out this list of the least fuel efficient hybrid vehicles before you head out to the dealership.  More »

—>You're sick of your SUV and thinking of getting a car that's new to you, but which ones get the best gas mileage for the price? Consumer Reports has the answer — a list of the 7 most fuel efficient used cars for under $10,000.  More »

—>23 months after we first posted her story, Angela Weigold writes in with the latest update about a Prius salesmen who left multiple harassing phone messages daily, calling Anela a "whore" and put her phone number on online escort websites.  More »

—>CNNMoney says that consumers are avoiding gas guzzling SUVs and buying... nothing! whaddayaknow.  More »

—>Reader Chris spent some extra money on a Toyota extended warranty which comes with free roadside assistance in the event his vehicle breaks down or runs out of gas. Unfortunately, that's what happened to Chris' girlfriend one day when she ran out of gas on a Cleveland freeway. She called roadside assistance for help, but when the rescue driver finally arrived he'd only brought a half-gallon of gas, not enough to get her RAV 4 started. Since the roadside assistance terms allow for 3 gallons of gas she asked the driver to bring additional gas to which he replied, "They don't pay me enough for that," and drove off. Chris' letter, inside...  More »

—>Poor Howard Castleman. All he wanted was a little PR for his car dealership. Castleman planned to give four scholarships to students at Patterson High School in Baltimore, but instead of honoring Castleman's charity by inviting the media and displaying his dealership's banner at the senior's farewell ceremony, the school instead decided to honor a long-time teacher who recently died of a heart attack...  More »

—>The era of the pickup truck is over. For the first time in 15 years, the Ford F-Series has lost its position as the nation's top selling vehicle. The new king is the Honda Civic, followed by three other economy models. That's right: the F-Series plummeted to fifth place in sales last month.  More »

—>The formerly mocked and neglected Geo Metro is finding new popularity amidst high gas prices. According to CNN, the Geo Metro is making a spectacular comeback, especially on eBay. You might be surprised to learn that the Geo Metro and Toyota Prius get nearly the same gas mileage. Now consider that a Metro can be found for about $7000 compared to a new Prius which costs $21,000+, it becomes easy to see the attraction. Details, inside...  More »

—>This is Round 30 in our Worst Company in America contest, Clear Channel vs Toyota. Vote which sucks more, inside...  More »

—>If you own a Tacoma made between 1995 and 2000, Toyota would like to inspect it free of charge—and if the rust corrosion is severe enough, they will either repair the truck on their dime or buy it back as a vehicle in "excellent condition" no matter what state it's really in. Toyota announced this a little over a month ago and said thy would start sending letters to Tacoma owners in the weeks to come, so if you haven't received yours yet, be on the lookout for it.  More »

Snapshot of the economy: Small car sales up in March, SUV sales down. Those experiencing the biggest deltas? Toyota Yaris:up 83.2%, Nissan Titan: down 44.9% [Kicking Tires]  More »

—>Ben writes:

A friend of mine bought a 2005 Toyota 4 Runner for about $25000. When he went to the dealer, he told them that safety was a big concern as he has small children, and he wanted to get as many safety features as he could on the vehicle he was going to buy. The saleswoman showed him the 4 Runner he ended up buying and pointed out that it had side and curtain airbags, which were listed on the sticker. He bought it, and a week later he took it to get inspected. It turns out that it does not have the side and curtain airbags that are listed on the sticker. He went back to the dealership and spoke to the manager who offered him a few free oil changes, and tried to tell him that that year didn't even come with those airbags so what was he complaining about. What should he do? They already got rid of the truck he traded in, and is thinking that the dealer owes him some cash back on the deal.

—>Toyota has announced that it is recalling 15,600 Tundra 2007 Tundra four-wheel-drive pickup trucks because "a rear propeller shaft may separate at the joint."  More »

—>Andriy writes:

It seems as I'm falling a victim to a Yo-Yo Car Financing | Spot Delivery Scam from a car dealer...  More »

—>If you bought a Toyota Prius and have been trying to pass an emissions test in Georgia, you're probably pretty stressed out right about now.  More »

—>Toyota is recalling optional "all-weather" floor mats used in the 2007 Lexus and Camry because they could slip and trap the accelerator pedal. This, quite obviously, would be very, very bad.  More »

—>Researchers have figured out a way to hack remote keyless car entry devices. The threat to the consumer is minimal, it takes several hours to crack the code, but it does give one pause, especially considering that if the Keeloq's manufacturer added a few simple measures they could render the exploit nearly useless.  More »

—>Coca-Cola has come out on top of the "Best Brands" Harris Poll for the first time ever. Sony, the leader for the past 7 years slipped to number 2.   More »

—>Recent graduates shopping for a new car may be eligible for incentives offered by several automakers. The incentives are rarely advertised, unknown even to most dealers.  More »

—>Chris tells us the endgame on his situation where the Toyota dealership rented him a car that was illegal to drive. He was eventually able to get a full apology from the place and get 50% knocked off his bill, but it took him showing up in person and going a few rounds with the manager.  More »

—>UPDATE: Chris goes back to the dealership and makes the manager give him 50% off his bill  More »

—>The Consumerist is interested in hearing from car salespeople and customer service representatives in the automotive field. We're looking for tips related to buying a new or used car. If you are or once were a car salesperson or worked in a car dealership and would like to confess, write to us at tips [at] consumerist [dot] com.   More »

—>Consumer Reports cautions that buyers of popular hybrid vehicles may soon be ineligible to claim the Alternative Motor Vehicle tax credit. The credit sunsets when a manufacturer sells more than 60,000 qualifying vehicles, a figure Toyota has already reached.

The credit has already begun to phase out for Toyota and Lexus hybrids purchased after September 30, 2006, and others will follow suit as they reach the sales volume target. The 2006 Prius' tax break, for instance, dropped in half to $1,575 if it was purchased after that date, and it will split again to $788 between April and the end of September, 2007. After that, the Prius rebate disappears altogether.

—>We recently posted about a couple who went into a Toyota dealership, got a little ticked off, and were refused a car. Not because she had poor credit or was acting a fool in the store, but because she and her husband were "in a bad mood."   More »

—>Toyota enjoys their reputation for great customer service, but does that mean they should stop selling cars to cranky customers who might complain? We don't think so, but at least one Toyota dealer in Berkeley, California did just that. Berkeley Toyota refused to sell a car to one of our readers because he and his wife were "in a bad mood," and made the salesman "feel like dirt."   More »

Angela Weigold writes in what's new with her case against a dirtbag Prius salesman, James Gentile. This was a guy who, after the deal went raw, left multiple harassing phone messages daily, called Angela a "whore" and put her phone number on online escort websites.  More »

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to recall about 533,000 Sequoia SUVs and Tundra pickup trucks in the United States to repair faulty components that could make the vehicles difficult to steer....The latest recall covers certain 2004 to 2007 model year Sequoias and 2004 to 2006 model year Tundras, both built at Toyota's Indiana plant, the automaker's U.S. sales unit said in a statement.

—>Angela Weigold writes in what's new with her case against a dirtbag Prius salesman. This was a guy who, after the deal went raw, left multiple harassing phone messages daily, called Angela a "whore" and put her phone number on online escort websites:  More »

CRMLowdown sifted through countless customer service surveys, studies, and real-life experiences to come up with a pretty damn impressive list of the best/worst companies for customer service.  More »

An update on the Weingolds who are suing a Prius salesman, claiming he screwed them over on a sale and then proceeded to leave threatening messages on their answering machine.  More »

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—>• In Edinburgh for a few months, what's the best mobile phone to use to make international calls to US (amongst other places) from Scotland? [Link]  More »

—>In the case of Prius sale gone wrong, Mark tells us that he met with a lawyer this weekend. The lawyer agreed to help sue Mr. Gentile, the salesman.Dan Wolf Toyota of Naperville. Yay. Lawsuits.  More »

—>On Monday, we posted part of Mark's story about how he tried to return a Toyota Prius and ended up incurring the wrath of vengeful salesman who placed obscene phone calls at all hours to his wife. A warrant is now out for the salesman's arrest.  More »

—>If you buy a Toyota Prius, your wife's name and phone number will instantly find itself on many online escort websites. This we know. But it sucks for money in ways your wife doesn't. In fact, the car's so confusing that Consumer Affairs couldn't even figure out how to turn one on:  More »

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—>It's the weekend, and time to party. Therefore, tonight's dangling odds and ends are presented in scream format.  More »

—>If you own a Toyota Prius, you may want to bring it into your local dealership. Just pray that the steering wheel doesn't break off in your hands on the way.  More »